Sleepwalkers
by RedPointyFinger
Summary: The year is 2298. The world is at war with an Alien infestation. One group (of misfits) is promising to rid Earth of the hostiles, at any cost. Join the Pitch Perfect characters as they battle demons, aliens and Shapeshifters whilst dealing with their own troubles and relationships and attempt to restore hope and power to a broken Earth after an Alien attack.. Established BeChloe.
1. In The Beginning

_I wish I owned the characters from Pitch Perfect because they are the best bunch of misfits friends I am unfortunate enough not to have as my own... but I don't.  
_ _I would love to own any of the songs featured within this story... but I don't.  
_ _I'd like to be able to say I own a complete grasp of the English language and grammar (but despite being ever so English and sounding like the Queen, I left school in the last Millennium and promptly forgot everything on purpose, because that is how I roll)... but I don't.  
_ _I hoped to own a soul (I am ginger)... but I don't.  
_ _I want to own a normal sense of humour... but I don't.  
_ _I would love to own the ability to know when to stop rambling... but I don't._

 _I own nothing except a hefty mortgage, a very clumsy husband, a couple of dead pot plants and several grumpy cats._

 _I'm too lazy to type up a disclaimer on each page so I am doing it all now. The most I hope to write are the song titles that I have stolen to use in each chapter which I will always aim to do but please forgive me if I forget!_  
 _I own nothing from Pitch Perfect, any of the characters (except the OC ones you'll find coming up and you'll easily spot who they are), any song lyrics or in fact anything else at all! I even stole the name from a company I work with that I always thought sounded cool._  
 _I have endeavoured to write an original story based on my love of aliens and Pitch Perfect and I truly hope you like it. I did originally post this under a different Author's name. This has been rewritten for a different fandom. I hope you enjoy!_

 _So, onwards and upwards, dear friends and readers... for the Agents are waiting. The first couple of chapters are quite long and hard to get through but I really hope when the story gets going, you'll enjoy it._

* * *

 **Sleepwalkers  
.oOo. Chapter One - In The Beginning .oOo.**

 _It was getting cold out,  
Summer was over although I wouldn't have known the difference.  
I had barricaded myself in my room, in my head;  
Tortured by Star Spangled dreams of a future I had brushed shoulders with;  
Maybe even made it to second base with?  
When they all gave up on me, I guess I kinda gave up on me too.  
The parade of empty eyed partygoers and lock jawed stragglers seemed have stretch in to forever.  
So I adopted a 'can't beat em, join em' philosophy!  
I had heard rumblings of some sort of sickness going around,  
Some soul sucking virus that turned bright, promising souls into cold shadowy might have beens.  
I could relate I thought; I was one of them;  
I was a sleepwalker!_

 _Funny how your priorities change when you are faced with extinction._

 _** Sleepwalkers - Bonnie McGee **_

 **.oOo.**

The curiously quiet motorised hum rumbled up and over the hill, creating the only sound in Sector 3.9 as the D-ACA Cruiser gently glided across the rocky terrain, avoiding the numerous bubbling gas pockets with ease.

The rider, the only human for miles, was clad completely in black leather and skilfully negotiated the now familiar environmental setting, handling the vehicle with experienced precision whilst maintaining a perfect poise astride the large, overly polished, shiny machine.

The route up the muddy, rocky mound was steep but short and it wasn't long before the rider reached the small crevice, her intended resting point, some twenty feet from the summit. It held a well appointed vantage point over the valley, hidden from overhead aircraft and set far enough back from the ridge that it would take only the keenest of eyes to spot it amongst the flinty face of the small hill.

The rider killed the engine and nudged the cruiser towards the back of the cave, tucking it against the rear wall. Surveying the dimly lit hollow, her training making her constantly on the lookout for the enemy, the rider looked down to the craft she had ridden in on, assessing for any damage that could be easily fixed with the standard, basic tool kit attached to the spare wheel.

The battle she had just come from had been quick, intense but triumphant and the remnants of the victory were secured in the locked box on the back of the vehicle, ready for inspection and testing back at Base.

Luckily, there wasn't any serious damage to fix on the cruiser and the rider knew, once back in the hallowed workshops of the Headquarters, the machine would be stripped down to be cleaned properly before being returned to the Vehicle Bay, ready for the next journey out.

Waiting for the environmental readings to uplink onto the data screen that was located just inside her helmet visor, the rider sighed heavily as she canted her weight onto her right hip. After a long day and an even longer week, it felt good to break protocol and take a breather for a moment.

The faint crackle of static brought the rider back to the situation laid out in front of her. She assumed her faultless composure again as she looked at the readings scrolling across her eye screen.

She scanned the immediate area in front of the cavern, assessing for danger, hostiles or simply bad weather. This was England after all and a heavy thunderstorm could hamper radio signals, mess with communications and cause appalling flying conditions. The ecological study had completed satisfactorily and the risk of exposure showed a healthy three percent. She checked the atmospheric status once more, just to be sure before raising her visor; her leather glove ghosting over her bruised and bloodied cheek in the process.

 _'Oh ding a lings!'_ She thought to herself, hissing slightly as she pressed her cheek to assess the damage, knowing any sort of battle wound would need to be logged with the Base Doctor, causing an examination she had no time for and a delay she didn't need.

Not today anyway.

The rider silenced the radio on her left hip with her gloved thumb, as she uncurled a long leg over the brand new D-ACA Cruiser that she had acquired only hours before, using it to put some distance between her and the small Alien camp she had only _just_ managed to get away from.

She was graceful and light on her feet; her long, slim legs effortlessly stepping over the rugged ground as she made her way to the entrance of the cave, avoiding the bubbling purple coloured pothole on the right. Risking a reproach later, the rider removed her helmet, shaking out her golden carefully curled hair as she turned her face into the wind, revelling in the slightly sulphuric breeze that wafted across her tired face. Using her impeccable vision, she trained her hazel eyes onto the pale red hue of the horizon, the sign of the end of another day. She sank to her knees and leant against the rocky wall for support.

She watched and waited for the signal.

Pulling back the leathered sleeve, she glanced down at the implant embedded into her left forearm; the dullness of the small LED display providing a second reassurance that she needed to get back to Base as soon as possible as her energy levels were registering dangerously low.

She patted the small pocket on her uniform, just to the south of her left collarbone, feeling for the set of small syringes she always carried, reassuring herself that she had at least two doses of the emergency APOP treatment, should she need to use it.

The rider had never had to use the drug before; she had heard the side effects were vicious, but all the Agents were issued with the drug - the Advanced Protection Oxygen Preserver - as a standard part of their kit. It allowed the user approximately thirty minutes life support, should their oxygen supply be compromised or if the environment was too toxic. It provided enough adrenaline to prevent organ failure and activated an increase in rich plasma, designed to keep the body alive if the injury received accumulated in severe trauma or excessive blood loss.

Upon injecting the APOP; directly into the neck worked best, a tracking beacon was triggered automatically, alerting the team, and allowing time for preparation for retrieval if the Agent was further encumbered. When on duty, every team member was required to be on point, ready for anything and prepared for every type of situation.

The vigorous training schedule only gave a hint at what they had to learn.

The enemy, known simply as 'The Sleepwalkers' were ingenious at leaving lingering, poisonous vapours in their wake after an attack, deathly lethal to a human or animal and even the keenest and most talented of Agent could be compromised, making such a drug as the APOP a necessity for all those who went out on patrol alone.

Pouting strongly into the wind, the rider continued to watch the vista as she flexed her fingers, waiting for the signal from her support vessel. There was plenty of time before the scheduled rendezvous so she allowed her memory to drift for a moment. The rider hated The Sleepwalkers through every fibre of her being; pure, red hot, burning, passionate hatred that threatened to consume her if she allowed herself too long to dwell on her thoughts.

Following in her mother's footsteps and her grandmothers as well, to avenge their deaths and preserve their memory, she had joined the Freedom Fighter's Academy as soon as she had turned eighteen, graduating with honours in just four short months, surpassing all expectations and faster than anyone in Elementum's - Freedom Fighter's Headquarters - history. The rest of her class graduated two months later and by then, the rider had already attended Leadership School. She was officially made Team Leader of Unit B two months later, the youngest in the history of the Academy. An achievement she had quietly acknowledged and stored in her memory banks before going about her day as is nothing had happened.

She set the precedent for young, fresh team leaders and with her input, several changes were paid to the way the teams were structured. She was happy to help; her sole purpose since joining Elementum was to live and serve. She didn't always get it right but was humble enough to accept that not every day was a good one. She learnt from mistakes and moved on quickly.

The Academy Training was, as accurately described by all who passed through it, a living hell. Ruthless, pitiless and aggressive, it served to sort the wheat from the chafe. Dropout rates were extremely high, ensuring that only those with both the finest mental prowess as well as extraordinary physical strength, would graduate.

 _'Go Hard Or Go Home'_ , was the phrase the rider had coined for her Unit, something she abided by herself, sparing little thought or regard for time wasters. She was aggressive when necessary but had learned over the years to use her team's skills and accept that her way was not always the best. In return, her team didn't question a hard decision that she had had to make under extreme pressure if she had had to pull rank on one of them.

Four years later, she was still in command of a cutthroat, compact, energetic and seamless team, renowned throughout the entire organisation as one of the best. Her team had earned her love and respect and while she occasionally found herself wondering how such a bunch of misfits worked so easily together, she didn't question it. Of course, there had been fatalities over time and her eyebrows furrowed for the briefest of moments as she scanned the horizon as she thought of the Agents that had been lost under her command.

The smallest of unexpected sounds snapped the riders' attention back to the cave and her current surroundings. Scooping her helmet back over her head in an easy, fluid movement and ignoring the sting in her cheek as she did so, she snapped the visor down in one, quick solid motion, reawakening the on board computer built neatly into the corner of the eye screen.

The gridded screens flashed green as she searched the area, dropping to a low crouch as she charted the cavern once more. The small digital camera zoomed in and out, adjusting and focusing on the bubbling pothole as it processed the contents. Flashing an orange cautionary circle, the rider quickly and effortlessly rose from her crouched stance to her full height once more, sweeping her eyes over the cruiser, idly waiting at the back of the cave.

Immediately the screen flashed a red warning triangle and streams of information began to dart down the screen as the rider took a step closer, her hand instinctively dropping to draw the W-74, her weapon of choice, currently strapped to her right leg. The data warning concerned the cargo in the locked box towards the back of the cruiser, the treasure from her latest killing spree.

The rider halted when the red triangle flashed again.

The words ' **REGENERATING NEEZLUX** ' flashed across her visor and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up immediately.

"Shit." She uncharacteristically cussed, snapping into immediate action as she reached a long, slender, perfectly manicured finger under her helmet, finding the small, rigid black button implanted behind her ear, pressing it twice. She listened for a second before she heard the familiar ping, signalling her connection to Base.

 _"Base. Unit B for Badass. Press one for today's lunch menu…"_ The unmistakable loud, clear, sarcastic voice of her second in command rang out immediately in her ear, flooding the rider's senses with a flicker of relief, despite the obvious lack of protocol in the greeting; something she would address later as, despite Elementum being on the lowest level minimal security setting, she demanded that her team be on point at all times, regardless. _"… press two for your choice of easy listening tunes, press three for-"_

"-This is Skipper." The rider said sharply. A nano second later, she could almost hear the Agent's chair popping back upright, the slap of a pair of heavy boots hitting the floor and the scramble of a set of headphones being secured properly back on Agent Beca _'Psycho'_ Mitchell's head. "Execute emergency retrieval from Sector 3.9. I repeat, execute _EMERGENCY_ retrieval from Sector 3.9. Over."

 _"Copy that Skipper."_ Beca said, her mind sharp and focused as she taped the necessary codes onto the monitor in front of her. _"Initiating retrieval in Sector 3.9. State the emergency. Over."_

"Regenerating Neezlux in D-ACA cargo box. Over." The rider called in, a twinge of pride in her voice.

 _"Affirmative. Wait, what? You got a Neezlux? Fuck! On your own? Dude?! Seriously? Fuck! You got one of those feisty fuckers by yourself? That is fucking amazing! Fuck. Over."_ Beca's awed response rang out as watched streams of data roll down her screen, sending necessary data through to the powers that be at Elementum.

"Affirmative. Calm your pits Psycho. Neezlux is dismembered and parts in D-ACA's locked box ready for testing. Sending data from my head cam to your station. Classify as high risk. I repeat... high risk. And Agent…"

 _"Yeah?"_

"… watch your language. Over."

 _"Apologies for the enthusiasm, Your Highness."_ Beca deadpanned sarcastically. The rider's lip twitched as the hurried clicking of keys could be heard in the background. _"Re... triev... ing data... now Skipper. Got it. Over."_

"Is Nancy in his hole? Over." The rider asked.

 _"Affirmative Skipper, sending data to Nancy now. Over."_

"Patch him in. Over." She ordered, glancing out at the horizon once more, eyes dancing over the hills as she sensed there was more to the day to come. A low growl caught her attention and she twisted to listen intently.

 _"Copy that. Connecting Nancy to my comms unit now. Over."_ Beca said quickly, her tone sharp.

"Get Rascals position stat. Reclamation time needs re evaluating. Over." The rider barked; the speed of the regeneration process of the extremely deadly Alien next to her was beginning to irk her.

 _"Copy that. Retrieving coordinates now for Rascals position Skip in... three... two... one... current location is Sector 8. Time to your location... fourteen minutes. Sending transmission now to Rascals location and advising of situation. Coordinates locked and loaded... now. Over."_

"Has the download been successful Psycho? Over." The rider asked, doing her best to sound calm as the moaning grew louder from the locked box.

 _"Finishing up now Skip... Receiving Intel from Nancy... and... regen is presently at... twenty one percent. Time for full regen is approximately sixteen minutes. Advise on course of action preferred. Over."_

"Organised retraction time is thirty minutes away. Too long. Is Mouse already airborne? Over." The rider asked, slightly hopeful.

 _"Negative Skipper. She's currently setting small fires in the lunch break room. Felt that the fire marshals had nothing better to do. Over."_ Beca stated; a tinge of humour in her voice.

"Repeat that Agent? She deliberately set a fire. Over."

 _"Calm your pits Skipper. She's baking cookies... I think. Over."_

"Who is closest in the air to my location? Over." The rider asked, gritting her teeth, slightly annoyed in the delay in getting action organised.

 _"It's only Rascal who's flying Skip. Currently making heart shaped loops over Italy. Over."_

"Land rovers available? Over."

 _"Negative. Valentine teaching the new recruits how to strip... tools that is. Over."_ Beca said, almost apologetically.

"Advise Rascal to fly double time." The rider said, deciding this was her best course of action. "Advise caution on approach. Requesting back up with the Neezlux. Ammo is empty. My kinetic energy level is registering a little under six percent. Over."

 _"Are you loaded with APOP? Over."_ Beca asked.

"Prefer not to use. Over." The rider said decidedly.

 _"Understood but precautionary measures Skipper? Over."_ Beca said, now with a trace of concern in her voice.

"Your concern is noted Agent. Readings? Over." The rider asked, glancing toward at the box strapped to her cruiser.

 _"Regen at twenty nine percent. Tough bastard. Rascal approaching on your horizon in less than nine minutes. Should have established radio contact in ninety seconds. Over."_

"Copy that. Update on Rascal's internal link? Over" The rider asked, thinking of her own small implant behind her ear.

 _"She's without it at the moment. Over."_

"Has Tech No finished repairing it after the kick Rascal received from the Urbitox Alien? Over."

 _"Affirmative Skipper. Rascal due for re implantation at twenty one hundred hours. Over."_

"Copy that. Maintaining contact with the Neezlux for data transference. Send to Nancy and Rascal. Will get visual before I let you go back to whatever level of Angry Birds you were playing. Over." The rider smirked.

 _"Advise on placement of spy on Psycho cameras in control room Skip? Over."_ Beca huffed in reply.

"Seven years of knowing you. No camera needed. Honestly Psycho? The future of the planet is in our hands and you are playing Angry Birds? Over." The rider laughed, despite herself.

 _"Copy that. Don't start getting excited. You'll only puke in your helmet again Skip. Over."_

"Is that your professional opinion? Over."

 _"You weren't due back until extraction. Over."_ Beca said, although she knew her defence was pretty poor.

"And that is an excuse to mess around. We are at war here. Over."

 _"I'm sorry. Over."_

"It's a good thing you are good at your job, Agent. Over."

 _"Visual on Rascal? Over."_ Beca sighed, returning to business. In truth, for those back at Base, the day had been slow but she knew that wasn't an excuse to forget what was going on around them.

"Negative. Over." The rider said, sobering.

 _"Rascal is showing your location in five minutes, thirty one seconds. Clearly breaking speed limits. Over."_ Beca smirked.

"Copy Psycho. Will not reprimand. Repeat, will not reprimand on this occasion. Advise on potential weather conditions? Over." The rider sighed again, wanting her air support.

 _"Forecasted rain and storms on your location in twenty four minutes. Over."_

"Typical English weather then. Rascal location? Over."

 _"Scan showing Sector 4.7 and approaching Sector 4.1. Northern France. Visual on Rascal? Over."_ Beca asked, not understanding why her Skipper could not see the third Agent on the horizon.

"Negative. Over."

"Ask Fat to prepare the lab for our 'friend'. I want this specimen dealt with tonight. Over."

 _"Copy that Skipper. Will send communication to Fat now. Over."_

"Is she not at her post? Over."

 _"Negative Skip. Medical Bay with one of the new recruits. Over."_

"Problem? Over."

 _"Negative. The small Guatemalan one had one too many glasses of Boones Farm at orientation. Over."_

"On her first day? Over." The rider asked incredulously.

 _"Affirmative. Over."_

"Schedule team meeting immediately. That is simply unacceptable. This is war, Psycho, and it is _my_ job to make sure that my Agents are prepped at go time with three kick ass battle plans, practiced and choreographed to perfection. And there are only four… never mind; make a slot for twenty two hundred hours in everyone's calendar for a team meeting. Over."

 _"Affirmative."_ Beca said, ignoring her own eye roll as she punched in the details of her Skippers requested to the team's schedule. _"Visual on Rascal? Over."_

"Negative. Over."

 _"She's probably stopped for gas. Or doughnuts. Over."_ Beca laughed.

"Affirmative. Or taking photographs of sheep again! Over."

 **"Hey! I heard that you guys! One rescue party on its way, Skipper!"** Agent Chloe Beale with a callsign of _'Rascal'_ joined the conversation, her chirpy voice cutting through the static, thoroughly enjoying the hero complex she had had thrust upon her as she flew her favourite item of transport towards her captain, in a mild, yet exciting rescue attempt. **"Confirm time to location is four minutes and forty three seconds. Clarissa is locked and loaded. Ready to party! Totes fun! Rascal Over."**

"Copy that. You still need a better name for your bird, Rascal. Glad you could join us. Approach from the east. Arrive with cargo door open, this Neezlux is particularly nasty and will need quarantining. Skipper Over." The rider ordered.

 **"Copy Skip. Gold star for snagging a big, nasty Neezie Weezie all by yourself. Woohoo! Totes hugs and kisses! Rascal Over."** Chloe giggled over the comms.

 _"Dude, what have we said about using the word 'totes'? Base Over."_

"What have we said about the word 'dude' on comms? Skipper Over."

 _"Fair point Skip. Apologies Rascal. Base Over."_

 **"No worries Psycho, I still love you. Rascal Over."**

 _"Good job, 'cause I've spent my free afternoon sorting out your birthday_ -" Beca started to say before her captain's voice cut through the comms.

"-May I remind you of the impending danger we are in right now. Psycho, your girlfriend's birthday will have to wait until we are off duty and Rascal, I suggest you concentrate on the task at hand. Skipper Over." Although the words were hard, the tone was light and all parties took it informally.

 **"No problemo. Rascal over and out until approach imminent. See you soon Skipper! Yay! Rascal Over. Oh, and Out."**

 _"Base has you on Clarissa's camera Skipper. Advise on dark mass one klik south from your location? Object is organic. I deduce potential hostile? Base Over."_ Beca said, not taking the slight reprimand to heart.

"Negative visual. Scanning now. Skipper Over." The rider said, walking to the edge of the cavern and scanning the panorama.

 _"Base advising Skipper that it's moving slowly toward your location. Suggest relocation? Base Over."_

"Negative. No time. I have full visual on Rascal but none on hostile. Will prepare to board. See you back at Base, Psycho. Skipper Over and Out." The rider said, beginning to get ready for extraction, strapping her weapon, the W-74, back onto her right leg.

 _"Base says please be careful. Base Over and Out."_ Beca's final response was said before the tell tale click in her ear signalled the end of the conversation.

With her eyes firmly glued to the approaching aircraft, the rider, Special Agent in Charge Aubrey _'Skipper'_ Posen, Captain, Team Leader and Operational Field Commander, felt a surge of reprieve in the gloomy, early evening air that her team worked so well together when it was called upon.

She was tough on them but the dividends were high.

The Freedom Fighters' Unit B had the highest rate of hostile Alien capture and kills on record, passing the previous company top score set by Unit A, led by the unfortunate Bradford Allen, by a long shot, something that she was enormously proud of.

And whilst Aubrey enjoyed winning accolades, it was not what held her interest the most. What she cared about, what she _craved_ throughout her entire being was to know that the difference that she and her team were making in the war was _worth_ it; that instead of kneeling down and accepting their fate like so many of their peers were doing, they were fighting for their lives, for their freedom, and for the future and liberty of an unborn generation.

Aubrey took a step back towards her D-ACA cruiser, ignoring the continuous moaning coming from the locked box. Chloe was merely seconds away from her position now, having already done a fly past the cave to align the Y-PIX _'Clarissa'_ as close to the cavern's entrance as she could on her second run.

The perpetually exuberant Agent had actually waved like a _lunatic_ as she passed the crevice, blowing _kisses_ to Aubrey as she flew past, towards the west, before looping back a few seconds later, needing a few seconds to slow the transport down safely.

Aubrey, maintaining her dignity and refusing to return Chloe's overly enthusiastic gestures, clicked on the short wave radio on her hip, turned up the volume before tugging her leather gloves further up her hands, mashing and interlinking her fingers together to suppress any nerves that she wasn't allowing herself to think about.

"Rascal, advise time. Over." Aubrey called out into the cavernous space, hoping the echo didn't sound like nerves on the short wave radio as she walked towards the D-ACA Cruiser.

 _"Skipper, forty six seconds and counting until we get to bump fists. Are you ready?"_ Chloe happily asked as her raked her fingers through her red hair, tying it up into a lazy knot at the back, completely ignoring the loud alarm coming from the cockpit, informing the pilot that both hands had been removed from the steering device. _"I'm opening doors in three... two... one. Over."_

"Copy that Rascal. I'm mounting the cruiser now. Over."

 _"Oh Skipper, really? Mounting?! You'll get me all hot and bothered saying things like that! Over."_

"Rascal, keep those comments to yourself. Over." Aubrey sighed.

 _"Negative Skip! You know I've only got eyes for one girl really! Over."_ Chloe said light heartedly, looking over the terrain spread out in front of her, the setting sun casting lazy shadows over the ground below. Her eyes swept the rocky ridge carefully, despite her playful tone, she was focussed on the job at hand.

"I can request a transfer for you. Over."

 _"Aww, you can't say that sweetie. You'd miss me and my charms too much. I know you secretly like..."_ Chloe paused, the back of her neck tingling, a revealing sign that something was seriously amiss. She immediately scanned the horizon, dropped her eyes to the right and catching sight of a dark mass climbing over the rocks below. Immediately, her back straightened out before she spoke in a crisp, lucid voice, devoid of her happy persona and usual perkiness. Business like. _"... Skipper. Advise a lone hostile, approximately fifty yards west to your position, approaching at speed in an attack pose. Do you copy? Over."_

Chloe didn't take her eyes off the Alien hostile as she approached the crevice where Aubrey was currently waiting for her. Knowing that her team leader and her _friend_ was out of ammo, had little life support, a trapped Neezlux Alien who was likely to be fully regenerated in less than four minutes _and_ a lone hostile who was making fast work of the terrain, she needed to think fast.

As Chloe got closer, she could clearly see it was a Jaremise Alien, the tell tale quintessential 'little green man' look about the creature being the obvious give away, the mind altering capabilities and telepathic skill, of which Chloe was so familiar with herself and her knowing how dangerous it could be, being the reason that her blood ran cold.

Chloe had seconds to rescue her Unit leader as she knew Aubrey had nowhere to hide in the cave having seen the inside of it on her previous flyby. If the Jaremise got hold of her, even for a second, it would all be over for Aubrey.

Chloe steadied her nerves, clicked on the intercom to connect Base with the Y-PIX comms link and spoke in a very clear, utilitarian voice.

 _"Skipper, it's a Jaremise. I repeat, a Jaremise. Code one zero five. Initiating counter offensive. Good luck. Maintaining radio silence. Rascal Over."_

 **.oOo.**


	2. The Bit Before The Beginning

**Sleepwalkers  
.oOo. Chapter Two - The Bit Before The Beginning .oOo.**

 _Far away  
The ship is taking me far away  
Far away from the memories  
Of the people who care if I live or die_

 _The starlight  
I will be chasing a starlight  
Until the end of my life  
I don't know if it's worth it anymore_

 _Hold you in my arms  
I just wanted to hold  
You in my arms_

 _My life  
You electrify my life  
Let's conspire to ignite  
All the souls that would die just to feel alive_

 _** Starlight - Muse **_

 **.oOo.**

It was now the year 2298.

The dawn of a new century was almost upon the Earth. Ravaged by almost a century and a half of war, there were only a few sporadic militant groups left to protect what was once known as a green and pleasant land.

Rapidly depleting in numbers, the combative groups' sole purpose was to restore the planet Earth to its former glory, in whatever means they saw fit.

 _The Sleepwalkers_ had seen fit to abolish the normalcy that the people of Earth had once craved, overthrowing governments, religious beliefs and law and order.

They destroyed the fundamental necessities of Mankind, civilisations, renegading fellow Humans against each other in the quest for continued existence until no one could remember _why_ they were fighting or _what_ they were fighting for.

The past was long forgotten, ushering into a new, darker age, the bygone era undocumented or destroyed, the fight to survive against the evils unleashed upon the world taking precedence over humanity's need to chronicle events.

Pockets of radicals existed, desperate to remain in place to try to restore order, struggling to maintain their positions against the Sleepwalkers. Occasionally these radicals were successful but as karma dictated, there were also crushing disasters.

Those left behind on Earth untouched, unmarked by fighting were considered almost saintly. There must have been a reason why, after decades of war, of death and destruction that these people had been chosen to live.

 _The Mortals_ , themselves left bereft of contact from the rest of the globe, ploughed their lands, raised their livestock, taught skills and survival to their younglings, forever conscious of their standings as social pariahs.

Sensing the need to fulfil justice for their ancestral planet, the Mortal leaders threw themselves into supplying the world with sustainable goods, food to eat, fresh water to drink, weapons for protection, flora and fauna to regenerate life and anything else necessary to take down the enemy.

They raised warriors, combatants, assassins; trained with the skill to survive, to protect without thought to their own safety or existence.

Their numbers grew.

Small pockets of people, camped out in the wilderness and with a thirst for survival joined and word spread that the Mortals intended to take back the Earth and reclaim it as their own. Groups formed under the original leadership guidelines, establishing themselves all over the world.

One of these groups, _the Freedom Fighters_ stood out amongst the others. They were a small band of staunch, die hard, kick ass, intelligent, sometimes quirky and often odd, ranger revolutionaries dedicated themselves to defending their planet against the Sleepwalkers.

With little or no pay for their trouble, they were trained to perfection in all manner of lethal combat, weaponry, logistics and survival training, implanted with the latest technology and knowledge, they were the ultimate badasses of the Fifth World.

It wasn't about money; this was about the quest for survival.

They lived just beneath the surface crust of Planet Earth, undetected, reuniting the globe one sector at a time, ridding Earth of the filth that had threatened to conquer.

Incarcerating and torturing any Sleepwalker they found, information was gleaned and technology was developed to aid future generations to form a bigger army, in the hope that one day, evolution and serenity could be restored. It was merciless and necessary.

However, their lynchpin enemy, the Sleepwalkers, were considered sneaky sons of bitches, establishing themselves silently into Earth's core over a Millennium ago. Deep legend read that they had originally lain dormant under Earth's shell, simply waiting for the right time to strike, coldly manifesting a preparedness to inaugurate World War IV.

Their purpose was simple; World Domination. Their methods were cruel and remorseless. They arrived in many forms and guises, no set uniformed body or style but that was to be expected considering they had come from another galaxy, and were not human.

Having established that the archetypal look of _'the little green man'_ was over, each Sleepwalker was ruthless, evil, vindictive and intent on overtaking Earth in order for their race to survive, their own solar system too fragile to support their existence after the second Big Bang towards the middle of the twenty first century.

They had risen to the surface one fateful day in May 2099, beginning their attack, sparing no man, woman, child or animal in their wake, leaving being their plethora of tunnels and caves two hundred feet under Earth's exterior as they began to take ownership of the planet.

And it would be foolhardy to forget the _Shapeshifters_ , the over anarchically progressive, innovative 'first batch' arrivalees, the ones who had first set claw or stump on Earth's terrain all those years ago.

As the name suggests, this variety of Alien life form was able to transform into an alternate object quicker than a blink of an eye leaving nothing behind but a fine blue powder and a stench that suggested decay was its perfume.

Fully adapted to the environment, there was no one way to kill a Shapeshifter if it was not in its original state known to Man, but the Freedom Fighters were close to developing a serum that they hoped would reduce the Shapeshifter powerless to transform, giving the Freedom Fights time for a decapitation or at the very least, to render it unable to escape, aiding capture and being useful for experiments.

The Shapeshifters were the greatest threat to man, and without a serum, defeat would be inevitable, their fight only slowing the expected extinction.

 **.oOo.**

The Occupation of Earth by the Sleepwalkers began on the 30th May 2149.

It was a Friday, for those that liked the small details.

Despite the leap in technological, medicinal and aeronautical advances over the decades, the occupants of Earth, formerly known as Humans, still fulfilled the basic pleasures in what they used to call _Life_.

That fateful day had begun as any other that week; peaceful, serene, pleasant. And it rained.

Humans went to schools, had jobs, basked in the glow of the sun and slept in the hue of the moonlight, teenagers made out in the backs of cars, some got married, produced offspring and spent time with their families; sharing moments and making memories.

They took vacations, holidays and excursions; frolicked on the beach, camped in open spaces and fished in crystal clear waters, went to theatres, sang in choirs, played sports, shared jokes, baked cakes and played with animals.

They wore colourful clothes, sang upbeat songs and danced in their underwear. Some; the protective kind, laid down defences and stood up to safeguard their kind against natural disaster as the need for armies low and unnecessary.

Others chose a different path; rebelling against the natural order and the punishments, although unkind, were swift. Most of all they were unconcerned with the future; oblivious to the threat that lay quietly bubbling under the vibration of everyday living.

Law and order were important, imperative to maintaining the Utopia that had been created, an almost instantaneous harmonisation over the entire world.

In 2078, a Multi Governmental Unit, known as A.T.L.A.S. - _All Territories Living Amicably Simultaneously_ \- was introduced, ingeniously designed to end war, poverty and famine and to align all four corners of Earth, a symbolic, nodding gesture toward unanimity and peace.

There were no exceptions to this Treaty, countries ordered to sign the agreement; those refusing were dealt with swiftly and the administration seized.

There was no One Leader; a seemingly small band of men and women took over the running of Planet Earth instead. The Big Brother state was harsh and unfair in the beginning until synchronisation began to wash over the world like a warm, soft, fleecy blanket.

Little by little, conformation was adopted, and while each continent remained the same and each country keeping its individuality and relative independence, peace was restored and the globe began to resemble the Garden of Eden again; a paradise of sorts.

Of course, there were the trouble makers, the shit stirrers, the ones that didn't like rules or promises of a better future and under Law 4.59A of The Code: First Amendment, these individuals were shown no mercy. By the turn of the 22nd Century, people were falling in line, order was re established and people flourished.

Populations rose healthy; the young folk were brought up with discipline, respect and manners. Older generations were cared for; kept warm, well fed and protected until their last living days. Life was not prolonged for personal gain; the certainty of Death was never disputed.

Rivers ran clear, pollution at an all time low due to new legislation and rich fertilisation of the land made crops flourish and livestock thrive. Those in employment were treated better than before, with unemployment almost non existent, people took pride in their work ethic. Neighbours began to help each other out, families reunited, discrimination abolished and people felt safe to walk alone at night.

In short, A.T.L.A.S. had worked.

 **.oOo.**

Elementum.

The name itself spoke volumes in the Fifth World.

It rang clear and true and those that knew of the Freedom Fighters main hub, buried two hundred feet under the surface of Earth, looked upon the name in admiration and held it in the high esteem it deserved. The composite nature of Elementum was such that it encircled the four elements that composed the world.

Back to basics, for the start of a new era.

 **Earth** ; everything above the crust was the contrary of Heaven. Composed of a billion decomposing organisms, deep polluted cavities remained despite A.T.L.A.S' best attempts to purify the land.

Below the surface, nestled undamaged in the mantle, a more primitive but pristine selection of core minerals lay untouched, uncontaminated and luxuriantly fruitful.

Here, crops could grow, not needing the sun due to the richness of the soil, animals thrived without fear; feeding plentifully from the harvest and reproducing younglings.

It was the opposition of life above Earth's skin where vapours lingered, poisons remained and the overwhelming stench of rotting Alien carcasses filled the air. The Sleepwalkers did not care for their fallen; their numbers were large and plentiful.

The tunnels into which Elementum was built provided safety and shelter. And occasionally, an opportunity for a game of Hide And Seek.

 **Water** ; despite not always having a positive symbol, water was essential to human folk, to cleanse, to clean, to cook, to bathe, to live. In the atmosphere above, in the raging seas and the lakes and rivers, water had become the enemy.

The devastation caused by the Sleepwalkers left vast unplugged puncture wounds in Earth's shell.

In the days before the invasion, recorded words read that there were once seven oceans, separating continents but allowing ease of transport around the globe. Now, data showed that there were twelve vast bodies of water, no longer interlinked. The face of the planet had been altered permanently forever.

The weather however had not; the atmosphere did still provide the necessities; that was Mother Nature and Father Sun's ruling. Water filtered through Earths skin, bleeding through the soil until the acidity from the crust had dissolved leaving Elementum with safe, clean, fresh water that it craved for its continued existence.

There were lakes below the surface, pools of water providing Elementum with a food source as well as space for athletic training and on occasion, fun.

 **Air** ; breathing instinctively came to a mortal, this had never been under disrepute; despite advances and adaptations over the course of the last few Millennia, people were still born with lungs and a brain that required oxygen.

Filtered air was provided for the act of taking a breath; the aerated oxygenated living chambers of Elementum afforded the additional goodness that the Agents needed. It wasn't long before safer passage to the outside was improved.

A small implant to the bridge of the nose filtered out many of the natural pollutants which caused the headaches and nosebleeds, but no improvements were available for the tainted gases left behind by the Sleepwalkers.

Beyond the confinement of Elementum, the Agents enjoyed the space and freedom that the air provided on the outside; they allowed themselves to think of a future.

 **Fire** ; the source of heat tunnelled directly from the inner core, provided warmth and sanctuary. The fire pit, built deep into the bottom layer, allowed weapons to be forged, metal and ore to be meshed for building materials and for food to be cooked.

It burned day and night and was the catalyst of the running of Elementum. It powered the machinery, lit the torches and on a good day, provided entertainment with a few high spirited, throwaway sparks sending the Engineers into something akin to a frenzy.

The Agents loved those days, throwing a gathering, celebrating with marshmallows and smores, singing and dancing into the night.

A second smaller fire pit sat tucked away, behind its parent; this was a unit that no fellow liked to intrude upon. It was where they burned the Alien corpses that they collected.

Not wanting to pollute the compound with burial, the ashes were collected, pressed into blocks and stored above the crust.

 **.oOo.**

Elementum, and more importantly, The Freedom Fighters, consisted of eight hundred souls working together like a well oiled machine. Although a positional ranking system was firmly cemented in place, each member had a specific job and purpose to be there.

There were twenty four Units; those highly trained in combat who patrolled consistently for any sort of hostile. Each Unit held between eight and sixteen members, with an Agent in charge and two overseers. The leader would draw up battle plans, organise patrols, be responsible for stock control, accessing and evaluating the unfriendlies and captured hostiles and patching up her crew.

And not to mention encouraging and inspiring their fellow Freedom Fighters.

While Aubrey Posen possessed no special skills of her own, unlike several members of her team, she was, to all intents and purposes a phenomenal leader; steadfast, unwavering and true. Her ability to motivate the team was extraordinary, especially for a _woman_ in combat, and her desire to succeed, gleaned from living with a calculating and cold father was astonishing.

In short, she put her team through their paces and it showed in their slick manoeuvres and determined, no nonsense attitude when working. Despite their grumbles at her strict behaviour, she was respected.

She allowed down time and ignored a few misdemeanours, knowing when the shit hit the fan, they worked seamlessly.

Aubrey had joined the Academy in the same month as Beca Mitchell; a seventeen year old, drum playing, quietly sarcastic, occasionally snarky but very capable teenager with a remarkable background who fell into life on Base and embraced the experience, finding her first taste of what a real family could be like after growing up alone in the caves of the Old Country.

Chloe Beale had also joined the same month. She had been an eighteen year old, bubble gum popping overachiever, whose upbringing was also far from idyllic, having spent years suffering from familial abuse and had found comfort, warmth and friendship on Base, allowing her to hone her underdeveloped extrasensory perception and finally find a place to call home.

Despite certain differences over the years, Aubrey trusted both Agents more than she trusted herself.

Beca had quickly passed through the ranks to become Aubrey's second in command, her right hand go to girl, challenging Aubrey on battle plans, offering a judgment on new strategies, techniques and artillery, rather than Aubrey's preferred tried and tested traditional by the book methods.

They butted heads regularly.

Beca was opinionated, creative, freethinking, occasionally moody but always, always supportive. Aubrey had trusted Beca with her life on more than one occasion. Earning her call sign of Psycho after defending her team in her first few days at Training Camp, Beca was Unit B's ultimate badass, with an insatiable, apoplectic, almost desperate need to extinguish every Sleepwalker in her path; she would put herself into the line of danger to protect her team, the only family she had left.

Beca's inability to pilot any aircraft properly held her back from obtaining her own Team Leader position. She was neither bitter nor resentful of this, knowing her strengths came in her aptitude towards weapons. She had no desire to walk away from Aubrey or Chloe.

She was the sniper of the team with more than a dozen 'mile shots' awards under her belt, she handled any armaments from a simple flick knife to a bow and arrow to the heavy, unbalanced B56-FD with ease and diligence and everyone at Elementum knew that this was her strong point.

She taught classes on a Thursday afternoon and the waitlist for a session was as long as the line for lunch.

Chloe, Aubrey's left hand girl, favoured the path of a more intimate stealth attack task force member, working closer with Aubrey than anyone else, counteracting any hostiles that had slipped under the radar before, during or after an attack or battle. She liked to call it 'bringing up the rear' but a few of her team joked that it gave her an opportunity to check out her girlfriend's ass during recon.

She excelled at flying, her favoured transport vehicle being one of the larger utility vehicles that Elementum had commissioned. It was the heavy, cumbersome, camera and radar heavy surveillance Y-PIX plane, designed for reconnaissance but adapted by Unit B's mechanic to carry an optional secure payload or captured Alien.

With her shoot to kill tactics, resolute determination, persistent adaptability and a treasured gift of extrasensory awareness (Chloe called it her Alienator Radiator or Alien Dar for short), a skill originally thought lost over three decades ago, meaning she could _feel_ danger before she could see it, a dexterity invaluable to night time manoeuvres which proved useful in the field, saving the mission more than once, she was also the team's perkiest member, an always look on the bright side of lifer, something essential to the team when the going got tough.

And it got tough.

A lot.

Aubrey turned to Chloe when she became too intensively focused on the task at hand causing her nervous vomiting condition to reawaken. As she put it, Chloe was the most 'peopley' of the three Agents in charge of Unit B and could handle anything they threw at her.

Stacie _'Valentine'_ Conrad was recruited directly from the Academy when Aubrey received her leadership placement in Unit B. She was a walking encyclopaedia on all types of the Sleepwalkers and Shapeshifters, as well as having a healthy up to date knowledge of weaponry; having collected quite an arsenal under her bed for 'research' purposes as a child, professing that they spoke to her in her sleep.

A phenomenal engineer and mechanic, she had a natural intuition with the machines despite a lack of formal training. Stacie's deft fingers and ability to flex her body around any piece of machinery in the workshop, kept Unit B's transport, vehicles and artillery in top order, earning them recognition from the Base Commander.

Earning her call sign on her first day as she locked lips and hips with fellow Agent Luke _'Nancy'_ Bryant, she was the Unit B's pin up girl. Despite staying true to Luke, she used her feminine wiles to source additional equipment, replace broken engine parts or simply to jump the queue in the Bases' Refectory. Aubrey loved Stacie dearly; well she had to, she was her half sister after all.

 _'Fat'_ Amy Hobart was the Unit's mad scientist, insanely clever and very unique in personality. Despite lacking in the physical strength needed to pass through the Academy, Aubrey had sort special permission to add Amy to her Unit after developing a deep friendship during training.

Amy seemed to keep the team entertained, providing a necessary release in the crazy world of Alien warfare while maintaining the high standard of research development that Aubrey demanded. Amy had personally created the APOP drug one Saturday afternoon, completely by accident as she had been trying to brew moonshine and through this had saved countless Agents' lives in the process.

She was very close to producing a serum to incapacitate Shapeshifters and after that, Aubrey hoped to work on Amy's dislike of wearing underwear. Despite her aversion to exercise, Amy was called upon, occasionally, to go out on drills with the Unit and Aubrey wasn't sure if finding a hardened pack of Viden Aliens was scarier or Amy mooning them all when she bent over to put her shoes on in the morning.

Aubrey had occasionally felt she needed subtitles in the beginning to understand Amy and her crazy accent, utilising Agent Bryant's similar dialect for translation. An Australian native by ancestry, her family could be linked to the beginning of the Freedom Fighters making her a useful, knowledge filled, although often inanely incorrect, collaborator.

Aubrey had felt compelled to take on four Academy newbies, having lost two Agents within five days of each other a few months previously and one who left Elementum to live under a rock. She had requested female Agents to replace her fallen comrades, despite the unfair balance in her team. She decided to expand her team, knowing her Agents were more than capable of educating and moulding the newbies into far better Agents than the training camp could. She only hoped they wouldn't follow the same sloppy paths as their predecessors.

One Agent, Mary Elise Watson had slipped up. Aubrey had no reservations on that score but it had still caused her enormous pain that it was the first slip up in almost four years and caused such a loss of a fine, albeit young, Agent. Mary Elise hadn't checked the batteries in her radio, hadn't been able to call for back up as she had come across an undisturbed nest of Russiteri Aliens. These were feared by most Agents; being the brain sucking variety with no other intentions than to kill, kill, kill.

Within seconds of one particularly nasty Russiteri catching Mary Elise's scent, she was gone. Taking the only comfort available to them that Mary Elise hadn't suffered, Aubrey had insisted on tracking the nest for the next month and revenge was served cold as she personally tore them apart with her bare hands after they were captured, rendering Aubrey unable for active duty for a week.

With Aubrey on bed rest inside the Medical Wing, out of action and radio contact, Kori Scottson had taken it upon herself to sneak out of Base for a private rendezvous with a team member of Unit A. Unbeknownst to her, there was an Urbitox Alien lurking near to the entrance, camping out amongst the trees that littered the area above the Bases' access point.

The Urbitox Aliens were fast, stealthy and fluid, using their gnarly legs as their assault tactics. One kick from an Urbitox did not end well unless the defender was wearing full battle fatigues and a helmet. Unfortunately, Kori was not in her kit and before she could make it back to Base, she had been levelled to the ground.

Aubrey didn't speak to anyone for a full day upon learning of Kori's demise, so close to losing Mary Elise. She informed the team quietly, in a moment of solidarity, that she was simply unprepared to lose any more Agents through sloppy, misguided mistakes.

 _'Doc'_ Cynthia Rose Adams worked with Aubrey and her team tirelessly after Mary Elise and Kori died. She was Unit B's personal doctor, her time spent dealing with wounds, laser burns and memory loss, as well as any personal issues that arose within the team members.

Allocated to them permanently three years previously, the reward for the Unit reaching the Supremo Uno slot, she had quickly become their confidante and loyal friend, occasionally travelling with them to remote locations if the battle plans looked overly fraught and dangerous.

Skilled in minor surgery in the field, she was quick thinking and resourceful, a natural and essential asset to the team. The team knew her well, having trained together as new recruits many moons ago.

Lilly _'Mouse'_ Okanakamura was the Unit B's official pilot, a complete daredevil in the skies, managing with an insane amount of skill to fly anything with an engine, battery pack or whatever powder it was that she kept locked up in a large container above her bunk.

Having persuaded Stacie to help modify an old V Tex plane, the 'Powder Experiment' had worked with only minor facial injuries and left only one with a semi persistent cough. Aubrey didn't ask questions, she couldn't hear the answers anyway having been deafened by the explosion, but she was prepared to turn a blind eye on occasion if it got the job done.

The team wasn't the same without Mouse, despite varying mewling noises of panic from the Agents when she appeared to be flying at speeds in excess of eight hundred and fifty miles per hour with her eyes closed.

Mouse was one of the best pilots to have graduated from the Academy in recent years and Aubrey knew she would be a fool to lose such a valuable asset over a few minor infractions.

Luke _'Nancy'_ Bryant was a brilliant, Old English, quiet and reserved Systems Data Analyst. He kept himself to himself in his private statistics room, providing the team with coordinates, deciphered data and any detected chatter he picked up.

Educated at the Oxford Underground University from the age of fifteen, he took just two years to complete a four year degree, quietly graduating with honours before signing up to MI5; the English intelligence agency before being recruited into the Freedom Fighters when he was twenty one.

Easy to bribe with a cup of tea and a Hob Nob, his dry humour, quick wit and endless background information on England and the rest of Europe were invaluable to the team and he had accepted his moniker of 'Nancy' with a rare smile.

The last member of the original team was Benjamin Applebaum, Chloe Beale's younger cousin who was a skinny boy she had only reconnected with a couple of years previously. Benji or _'Tech No'_ was the Unit technical wizard, earning the second part of his call sign for his almost inept ability to _fuck_ everything up periodically.

Desperately intelligent, he was reduced to bumbling and being clumsy around Aubrey, his crush for her blatantly displayed across his face. Chloe had begged Aubrey to keep him on, promising to help him be better.

He occasionally rewired their programming incorrectly, forgot to upload important updates and shared battle plans with his Grandma over the inter phone but when he was on form, he was a technological genius, and Aubrey, despite Benji having a collection of sock puppets, was able to overlook the mistakes as no one had died because of him.

No, that accolade landed firmly on a previous Unit B team member, Agent Jesse Swanson, Beca Mitchell's oh so former very brief not even kissed boyfriend and very, very ex best friend.

Despite graduating at the same time as Beca, he'd not risen through the ranks as successfully as his then friend, spending valuable research and training time on watching two hundred and fifty year old moving picture shows called movies.

Trading safety and security for a change in his grading which would allow him to move up the ranks at the same speed as Beca, his stolen Intel and top secret information ended up in the wrong claws, causing the loss of several Base Agents, including Beca's visiting, albeit estranged, recently discovered parents and reducing a quarter of the Base to be uninhabitable for a year.

While Beca had dealt with his trail of destruction and deceit, processed it and moved on she simply couldn't _forgive_ Jesse and look past his mistakes.

Before Aubrey could get his hands on him to tear him apart, he had left in the night, driven slightly mad at the lack of program uploads in his system, his brain misfiring and utter remorse at what he had done. He tried, unsuccessfully, to explain what had happened, that it was all a misunderstanding but he was shunned by the team.

The last Unit B heard of him, he was living under a rock in Sector U.

The four new recruits, Florencia Fuentes, Emily Junk, Jessica Smith and Ashley Jones were requested once everything had settled down and they were as green as could be, mere grunts for now, being their first few weeks on Base but they were settling in well and carving a way into their team.

Fresh from the Academy, they were keen to learn and blend in with the team but they hovered in the background quietly, unsure of their social standing amongst a team that had combined so well together many years before.

Assignments were handed out to them, with Flo dispensed to the Laboratory in Section T, under Amy's care, to assist and perform autopsies, run data screenings and any additional works that Amy saw fit to bestow on her young charge.

Flo muttered crazy things under her breath, making random comments about being sold to a chicken farmer and eating gas receipt but Amy thought she was great and they seemed to have struck up a decent friendship. Flo was nimble on her toes, small enough to survive one of Amy's many explosions in the lab and just daft enough to be willingly used as a prop in one of the more hairbrained experiments.

Jessica had a penchant for road craft, her driving skills placing her in the top three of the Academy Year 2298 so she was naturally allocated to Stacie for six months to learn as much about the Base's products and where things could be improved.

Jessica was quiet, which suited Stacie, who liked to listen to the many sounds a machine made to work out what was wrong with them.

Jessica's eyes had widened the first time she saw Stacie lay over the engine of the G-ALTO, draping herself over the warm motor before announcing it was the gear shift that was the problem.

Beca had laughed at Jessica's face but told her to work through the problem in the traditional way, which she did, and she'd find out that by herself that Stacie was quite correct. Jessica never questioned Stacie after that and just tried to learn from her.

Initially Aubrey took Ashley under her tutelage but it was soon clear that Ashley gravitated towards the more technical side of the operations. Luke quickly offered to train the new girl which was something Aubrey was, again, grateful to Luke for. Ashley was good for Benji, shadowing him closely and even helping him come out of his shell a little.

She was good with a checklist, which Aubrey liked immensely, and made sure Benji's program updates were performed properly. Ashley wasn't afraid to stand up for herself and was happy to bring up the rear of a formation, earning her approval as hurrying Amy along on a patrol was no mean feat.

Emily precision marksmanship led Aubrey to place her under Beca's wing.

While Beca was not happy to 'babysit a greenie', she did so without questioning Aubrey's decision in front of the team but there was an unnatural amount of sulking from Beca that day in the control room.

Aubrey had pulled her aside after the team meeting and told her how excited Emily was to collaborate with Beca and it was her dream to learn from her. Beca had confessed that she had wondered if Emily was there to replace her. Aubrey had convinced Beca that their skills were too different and they could learn from each other and reassured Beca that her place in the team, with her assumed family, was not going anywhere.

Emily had impressed Beca with her enthusiasm and dedicated approach to learning the new non approved training skills that Beca could teach and in turn, Beca was getting used to the various squeals, happy smiles and high fives that Emily, the _'Giant'_ bestowed on her.

She had been dating Chloe for long enough to understand unequivocal enthusiasm.

Aubrey had decided to ignore the obvious attraction that Beca and Chloe had developed since their early days in the Academy. Everyone around them could see that they had a different style of relationship than with everyone else.

While Beca had briefly dated Jesse, believing that it was what she should be doing, rather than what her heart was telling her to do, it had taken them both nearly dying in an attack by a pod of Gibilix Aliens that had them both pouring out their feelings as they lay trapped in an underground cave.

Aubrey had had to pull them aside in a private meeting once they were recovered and released from the hospital and tell them that their brand new relationship wasn't a good idea. Beca had gotten angry, thinking she was being told she couldn't be with Chloe, not quite understanding what Aubrey was trying to subtly tell her.

Beca didn't do subtle.

Chloe had taken Beca's hand in hers, kissed each knuckle in turn and had taken the time to explain that they weren't being told they couldn't be together by Aubrey but they were at war, and that brought forth a whole different aspect to their relationship. If one of them would be injured or worse, killed in action, how would the other react at the time with the job still to be completed.

It was Chloe who had the idea to come up with a code name for each of them and for Beca that worked, at work she was Psycho and she assumed her role brilliantly but when she and Chloe were sneaking into each other pods at night, that façade was dropped and they were just 'Bhloe', a term Amy had coined which Beca still didn't understand but rolled with it regardless.

 **.oOo.**

 ** _*Year 2291*_**

 _Freedom Fighters Training Academy - Sector 3.5_

 _European Division_

 _Section P. - Article - Amendment 9.4.5_

 ** _Militaturus Pergerem et Libertatem Iustitiae et Propter Hominis_**

 _10th April 2291_

 _Dear Miss Aubrey Posen US47510,_

 _Candidate for Training - SUCCESSFUL_

 _Thank you for your correspondence dated 3rd March 2291 enclosing your application and accompanying recommendations to join the Freedom Fighters Training Academy: European Division._

 _On a personal note, may I say that your accompanying communication was also thoughtful and polite and I note your list of academic attributes as well as your articulation._

 _I am delighted to offer you a position within our intake year 2291. Training will commence 1st May 2291. Please arrive at Sector 68 East, Pod 47 by midday, noon time for medical assessment, further instructions and materials. You will report to 'Base Commander Gail Abernathy McKadden Feinberger' on the day of your arrival._

 _The starting salary for the position upon completion of training will be NQL 11,500. This can be paid to you in credits for use on Base or deposited into a banking account or nominee account of your choosing. Please provide details on the form enclosed._

 _Your training material, equipment, clothing, medical care, meals and board will be provided and the Freedom Fighters Training Academy: European Division will reimburse a maximum of NQL 162 for transportation costs and out of pocket expenses to attend the first day of Training. You are under advisement to take every necessary personal precaution en route and the Academy will not accept any responsibility in loss of life or limb in reaching the Base._

 _Your bunk room has been allocated to you and you will be housed in North: Block 9: Room 409. Bedding is provided. Optional comforts are allowed. See the attached list for prohibited items which must be adhered to._

 _There will be a probationary period of four weeks. After successful completion of this probationary period, you will be asked to sign the attached document - YHN.761.P8.3D: please read carefully and in full as this is your commitment agreement to a life of service within the Freedom Fighters Training Academy: European Division._

 _Also enclosed is a list of items you may wish to bring with you. Note paragraph 6: All items are subject to screening. We respectfully request that you bring no electronic items or communication devices. These will be provided._

 _Your current entitlements are: None_

 _In the event of your training being incomplete, no further applications will be accepted._

 _Please do not hesitate to send a correspondence if you have any further questions._

 _Sincerely,_

 ** _Base Commander Gail Abernathy McKadden Feinberger_**

 _Freedom Fighters Training Academy - Sector 3.5_

 _European Division_

 _Enclosure._

"What is it Bree? You okay? What have you got there?"

Eighteen year old Aubrey looked up from her iPhone 600 and caught her half sister, Stacie, staring intently at her face.

"Sorry, Stacie, I wasn't listening..." Aubrey shook herself a little as she lowered the device to her side and sent a half smile in her sister's direction. "... what did you say?"

"I asked if you were okay. You look like you've seen an Urbitox Alien." Stacie smiled, as she went back to filing her nails.

"I'm fine. Stacie... I... I..."

"Bree?" Stacie noticed the different tone in Aubrey's voice and looked up in surprise. Her face registered the smallest flicker of worry as she slipped her arm around her barely older than her sister's shoulders.

"Stacie, I... I got in. Look." Aubrey said, raising the device in her hand, turning the screen so that Stacie could see the written words from the Base Commander at Elementum. Stacie's eyes widened and she first looked at Aubrey's face before running her eyes down the message, reading at speed in her excitement.

"AUBREY!" Stacie screamed as jumped up from her position on the small boulder they were resting against. "OH MY GOD! I am SO happy for you! It's _everything_ you ever wanted."

Aubrey looked up and saw the absolute joy on her siblings' face and physically felt herself relax for the first time in almost a year as she jumped up to hug her sister. Stacie and Aubrey were as close as could be. Having teamed up together in childhood against an uncaring family, as teenagers, they had bonded over the same family that had deserted them, abandoning them in the search of a better life away from Planet Earth.

They shared a father, both girls receiving their looks and characteristics from their mothers.

Their father, Charles Posen III, was a heartless man, intent on his own agenda. His great grandfather had been selected to sit on the Board of Administration of A.T.L.A.S. and as such, Charles Posen felt it was his inordinate right to special privileges.

He treated his wife, Thea, Aubrey's mother appallingly, in a cold and calculating way which had become his defining characteristics. He philandered with several women and as a result, another woman, Rolma, produced a second daughter six months after Aubrey was born.

He resented both of his children and succinctly refused to acknowledge both of their existences.

As a result, both girls spent the first four years of their lives unaware of each other, until after the Battle of Lonk in 2277. Aubrey's mother, killed in the first wave of the attack, had thrown herself over Aubrey, cocooning her young daughter, saving her from the patrolling Brewhiss Aliens, the clean up crew style Alien.

Easy to command in its natural state, the Brewhiss would sweep through abandoned compounds, caves or what was left of the semblance of a home, looking for life forms not destroyed by the blasts, ever hopeful for a human shaped snack.

Young Aubrey was sent to live with her father, after being found three months later, starving to death, frightened and very alone, by a passing Freedom Fighter out on a regular patrol. The resilience she had shown while she was alone, a small child living amongst the ruins, became the backbone for her life.

The stress vomiting had begun later, shortly after the nightmares began.

Stacie and her mother lived up on the hills, some forty miles from Aubrey's house in the township below. The shack they shared was small, wedged in between broken aircraft and rusting machines, in the Apparatus Graveyard. It was home to Stacie; she loved to play on the equipment, running her fingers over the dials and climbing through the busted windows of the old machines.

Even though she was only four, she showed a healthy intelligence and an aptitude to fixing the old technology, claiming to her mother that the twisted metals and coloured wires spoke to her, and their home was adorned with strange bits and pieces, useful creations that Stacie had made.

There was a stream running by their home, supplying them with food and clean water. One day Stacie's mother had gone to collect some fish and hadn't returned.

Stacie waited for nine days before simply walking into the town and presenting herself to a local farmer. She was sent to her father's home to live; his DNA on file after refusing to admit that Aubrey was his after she was born and tests were performed to confirm paternity.

Both girls grew to love each other deeply.

Their father continued to punish them for being under his feet and while many women came and went through their household, some stayed for weeks, others months, the girls had each other. Stacie flourished under their private teachers' guidance and her intellect registered off all the scales.

But it was still the machines she loved and where her heart lay.

Aubrey, the protector, always knew she would join the Freedom Fighters. Not only to avenge her mother's death but to thank them for rescuing her as a young child. Which is why, upon receiving the communication that morning, she was unbelievably overwhelmed.

 **.oOo.**

"I'll be gone for a while and I'll miss you every day. Make sure you eat. And sleep only during the day. You know the Sleepwalkers hunt at night and we can't take a shift each anymore. And you'll definitely apply for the Academy next year, right? I'll be waiting for you." Aubrey peppered Stacie's cheeks with kisses in between speaking, as they stood by Pod 47, in Sector 68 East. It was just before mid day and Aubrey would have to soon depart for Europe to being her training.

"Bree, I'll be fine! You know what. I'll confess something that you don't really know about me. I have a lot of S.E.X." Stacie mirthed, knowing it was something she said regularly and they always laughed about it.

"They really need a new name for that!" Aubrey sniggered.

"What?"

"Static Elevated X ray (Vision)," Aubrey sighed, but the light dancing in her eyes and the slight quirk in her mouth showed she wasn't really irked at all. "You claim it's the bane of your life but you can see through metal, see into the heart of a piece of equipment, can read the faults. Something some of the most advanced engineers in the world don't have."

"Meh! Bree, you sound almost proud of me."

"I'm prouder of you than I am myself. Look... I've got to go in a minute or two."

"I know and I also know what you are going to say. I'll be careful. I won't let you down. We're family, right? We're all each other have got. And I'll join you next year." Stacie smiled, refusing to let their parting be sad. "Save me a spot there, okay?"

Aubrey pulled Stacie in for another long hug, taking the moment to embrace her for the last time.

They were affectionate with each other even if Aubrey found it hard to be loving with anyone else, having never even received so much as a smile from their father.

While both girls strove for his approval in all that they did, he had shown them little regard during their childhood, accumulating in his decision to leave both of his daughters behind in favour of his new wife and a new beginning on Planet Mars.

Charles Posen III deserted his children in their early teen years in search of power and position when he won a place on the twentieth envoy to the red planet, where a new settlement had begun, away from the Sleepwalkers and the destruction.

"Don't over think anything Bree." Stacie continued as they pulled apart. "I can tell when you are thinking about Father. He's not part of our lives anymore."

"I know Stacie. He left us. But I'll never leave you." Aubrey promised. "I love you."

"I think that's why the Sleepwalkers chose Earth. Of all the planets in the galaxy, they chose one of the smallest and most fragile. And why? We were a stable, loving planet and had been for centuries. It must be how so many people have been allowed to survive, permitted to manufacture and to regenerate the land. The Sleepwalkers need humans to be their slaves and even if they hate us, they need us to repopulate for their future sport. They'll never kill us all. They need us in a weird, twisted way for them to survive. The only take out the ones that threaten them."

"When did you get so smart?" Aubrey asked.

"I'm not just a pair of boobs you know." Stacie smirked.

"No, my darling, you really aren't. I love you Stacie." Aubrey smiled fondly and pulled the younger girl in for another hug.

"I love you too Aubrey." Stacie tucked a kiss to the side of Aubrey's head and gently pushed her towards Pod 47. "Be safe."

 **.oOo.**

 ** _*Year 2298*_**

Helpless, Stacie could now only stare at the television screen in the Armoured Bay, Sector F on the top level of Elementum main hub, in horror.

She watched, her mouth wide open, as the Jaremise appeared on Chloe's Y-PIX camera and a small whimper slipped out of her mouth as she saw the creature pick its way over the uneven ground, heading purposefully and hungrily towards her sister.

All of a sudden Stacie, sitting on the edge of her seat, hands clasped nervously between her knees, felt as if the bay they were currently sitting in was too small, like all of the oxygen had been sucked out and she couldn't catch a proper breath.

"No... no... no... no!" Stacie choked out as Luke reached out to grab one of her hands, pulling it to his chest. "This shouldn't be happening!"

She knew that Aubrey was in mortal danger, unable to get away from the Jaremise, and she had never felt so helpless knowing there was nothing that could do from where she was in the Armoured Bay.

She remembered the childhood promise they had whispered to each other every night before they went to sleep. They had promised to protect each other, to be there for each, to always keep each other safe. Stacie, however, was completely protected, contained deep within the safety of Elementum, while Aubrey was out there, above the crust, completely exposed and perhaps only a few seconds away from death.

Stacie desperately wanted to turn away from the screen. She didn't want to see Aubrey's life end at all and certainly not where she couldn't be with her. She could only let silent tears fall as she watched her sister take up a position behind her D-ACA cruiser, affording those in the Armoured Bay a devastatingly accurate view of the cave in front of her from her helmet camera.

The high quality image could pick up the flecks of dust on the cruiser as Aubrey swept her head to the left. Stacie could see exactly what Aubrey was looking at and knew that there was nothing available that could even potentially shelter Aubrey right now.

It was the first time Stacie wished that their equipment wasn't so good and the image wasn't as sharp.

She watched Aubrey gather up a couple of large stones as she tucked herself down low behind the cruiser and knew Aubrey wouldn't give up without a fight. Glancing at the corner of the screen, Stacie saw that Aubrey's kinetic energy was down to two percent and she wondered how she was still functioning, let alone preparing for one last fight.

Most Agents took to the Pods for rest for anything less than fifteen percent.

Aubrey's heart beat remained steady, albeit raised and her breathing was constant and strong. Her eyes skipped over the other data, her heart sinking when she saw that the Neezlux was only a few short moments away from full regeneration.

Stacie knew that in with the unlikely situation Aubrey managed to out run the Jaremise Alien on her cruiser, or that Chloe was able to pull her out of the situation, if she didn't move fast, the Neezlux would tear her apart with its fists, breaking out of the locked storage box with fury.

Holding the frame of the screen firmly in sight, Stacie let her tears fall unchecked as she felt Beca come up behind her and lay a hand on her shoulder. This was it. The moment she had been dreading for years.

The one where her sister, her best friend who had stood up to their father when he was drunk and in a rage, taking the punishments he would dole out to spare Stacie the pain, who would square up to anyone who ever even looked at her sister in the wrong way, the one who would get up at three in the morning to go fix whatever problem Stacie had managed to get herself into, was about to die, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it right now.

Beca squeezed Stacie's shoulder, letting her know she understood. Stacie knew Beca was concerned as well and she appreciated that Beca had to have the backbone in the situation. Both girls had everything to lose in that moment.

Forcing herself to remain looking at the screen in front of her, Stacie's mouth opened into a silent scream as she saw the Jaremise's head suddenly round the entrance to the cave.

 **.oOo.**


End file.
